


Iron Heels (Soft/Hard)

by PrinceofBadassery



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ballet, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Balletdancer!Tony, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, M/M, Non-Binary Tony Stark, Tony Stark in dresses, Tony Stark in heels, amputee!Bucky, inspired by Beir once again, mentioning of transphobia, punk!bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-09-24 18:23:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9778850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceofBadassery/pseuds/PrinceofBadassery
Summary: Tony Stark finally approaches the creepy stalker who has been waiting outside the theater for over a week now and is pleasantly surprised. The stranger turns out to be nicer than he thought.*If you don't like any of the things described in the tags please don't read.*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Once again I was inspired by beir over on tumblr. http://beir.tumblr.com/tagged/theme%3A-soft-%2F-hard/chrono
> 
> Just the best AUs to be honest. I had this in my head for quite some time now.

Tony had been noticing the dark figure for a while now. Every day after practice he had been sitting on that one trash can outside the back entrance to the theater, barely visible if it weren't for the faint glow of his cigarette. At first he tried to ignore it, thinking the guy was maybe just some goon hired by Howard to spy on him. Not the first time that had happened, but the guy never followed him home. Tony had taken detours just in case.

On rare occasion he would catch him standing under the street light at the corner, but the guy would always avoid his gaze and turn away when he noticed Tony looking, hunching his shoulders in an awkward almost adorable way, if Tony wasn't slightly creeped out by the presence of this mysterious man. 

Dark, tall, and mysterious always wore the same worn leather jacket and black combat boots that threatened to fall apart. The shirts varied but like the dark jeans they had holes more often than not. Whether it was a fashion statement or the guy just couldn't afford new shirts, Tony couldn't tell. Either way it wasn't really Tony's style but nevertheless together with the long disheveled hair and dark stubble it had a certain appeal.

Today was one of those days were his 'stalker' - Tony didn't want to call him that even though the other's in the ballet group insisted - was standing under the street lamp smoking. He was looking at something on the other side of the street and didn't notice Tony approaching until he was right next to him.

"For a stalker you are doing a very bad job, you know?" 

The stranger choked on the smoke of his cigarette.

"Holy shit," he coughed out, "where did you come from?" 

"Just over there." Tony pointed to the theater entrance. "Where I always come from, you should know that." 

The stranger managed to stop coughing for a moment to look up and then promptly started to cough again.

"It's you," he managed to get out in between coughs and Tony waited a moment until the guy had calmed down, rolling his eyes. 

"I don't know what your deal is but you can tell Howard that I'm not coming back so you can stop wasting your time." 

"Who the fuck is Howard?" The guy finally dropped his cigarette and ground it with the heel of his boot. His voice sounded rough after the coughing fit.

"Huh?" Tony said intelligently. "You're not working for ...? Well, why are you stalking me then?" 

The other guy groaned.

"I'm not stalking, sorry, at least I didn't mean to. Listen, I just picked up my friend here last week and I saw you and well...," he broke off, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, "I thought you looked nice and ... " He trailed off looking in the other direction.

"And?" Tony prompted. He moved his purse to the crook of his elbow and put his hand to his hip, getting slightly annoyed in addition to being confused.

"You thought you could just get off by looking at the freak in a dress?"

"No, god no." The guy held up his hand. 

"I was trying to work up the nerve to ask you out!" The guy explained looking completely agitated and nervous. He gestured with his hand then dropped it to his side, hanging his head as well. "I didn't mean to be a creepy stalker," he added, "Just didn't know how to approach you." His hair conveniently hid his face when he rubbed it with his hand and sighed. 

"I'll just go. I'm really sorry I creeped you out." 

Tony watched as the guy turned around and picked up his bag from the ground. A tiny smirk was playing across his face. It didn't happen that often anymore that people were intimidated by him, in the past that had come from his family status and his father's influence so he was no stranger to it. This guy didn't seem to know who he was and Tony was glad for it. In fact this was something he hadn't expected at all when he had decided to confront the stranger. 

"So you're gonna?" Tony said, the guy had already walked a couple of feet, head still hanging, bag thrown over his shoulder. He stopped at Tony's words.

"What?" He asked confused but turned around, actually looking up at Tony. The guy was actually gorgeous when his face wasn't covered by hair. 

Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest, pinning the other with a challenging look.

"Ask me out." He said nonchalantly and meant it. Yeah, the guy's behaviour was creepy but he was also adorable in a very dorky way, plus if he really was one of Howard's people then he would certainly bail at this point.

The man's eyes went wide and Tony feared he was about to start coughing again the way his face contorted in confusion and he opened his mouth a couple of times before finally getting words out.

"You..You're serious?" 

Tony shrugged. "You went through all the effort why not finish it?" 

The stranger frowned and adjusted the grip on the strap of his bag, the other hand still in his jacket pocket. "You mean so you have at least the satisfaction of rebuffing the creepy stalker? Fair enough, I guess..." 

There were a couple of seconds of silence, then the man took a deep breath and looked into Tony's eyes. These steel grey eyes looked right through him. That guy really meant it and Tony knew in that moment that it was already too late. There was nothing he could do to stop the words coming from his mouth. 

"Yes!" He blurted out before the other had even said a word stunning him into silence again. "Yes, I'll go out with you." 

They looked at each other, Tony already fearing the worst but then the man smiled, a wide radiant smile, that took over his whole face in an instant. 

"Really?" 

Tony swallowed, still a little taken aback by his own sudden outburst. "If you take me to a nice place." 

"Yeah, of course. There's a little café a few blocks from here, I thought it would be nice to go there..." The man stepped a little closer, his expression suddenly full of doubt. "I hope you're not fucking with me 'cause I've been thinking about how this conversation would go for a week now and this is not what I expected to happen. I'm Bucky by the way."

"Tony, and no, I'm not fucking with you, you're going to have to buy me dinner first." 

It took Bucky several minutes to recover from the laughing-turned-coughing fit that followed. Tony had been scared for a moment when the other doubled over not sure how he had taken the joke, but he smirked smugly once he realized what was happening, only when Bucky started coughing again Tony became concerned. He stepped closer, putting a hand on the other's back. 

"You alright there?" Tony rubbed slow circles on Bucky's back, the other took in a jerky breath at his touch. So close Tony could smell the cigarette smoke on him, but also the musty smell of the leather jacket and Bucky's own personal musky scent. 

Bucky nodded, slowly straightening up to meet Tony's eyes, looking a bit worse for wear. "Yeah, thanks, sorry about that. You surprised me there." 

"Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises, Buckeroo." Tony winked and trailed his hand down Bucky's arm. It felt strangely hard and cold and Tony retracted his hand again. "So you gonna pick me up tomorrow? We can meet before practise, if that's alright with you." They were very close now and even with the slight heels Tony was wearing Bucky had a couple of inches on him. 

Bucky smiled and Tony was already falling hard for that smile. "I'm free all day tomorrow, so no problem. But I wanted to ask you something first..." He blushed slightly and looked to the ground. "I hope this isn't too forward or rude or anything, but..."

Tony cocked his head slightly, brazing himself for an awkward question about his genitals or possible surgeries even and really Tony hadn't thought Bucky was that kind of person, but then again they had known each other for a whole of five minutes. Here we go, Tony physically tensed when Bucky opened his mouth.

"What are your preferred pronouns?" Bucky said instead and it took a couple of seconds to register in Tony's brain but then he smiled widely. 

He might just keep this one.


	2. Chapter 2

"No cigarette today?" Tony smiled as he approached Bucky. He was standing on the exact same spot they had first met yesterday. The man was wearing almost the exact same things as yesterday except the shirt looked a bit nice and didn't have a screaming face with some illegible band name on it.

"Didn't want to choke again when I saw you." Bucky stepped closer, smiling as well.

"Do I look that bad?" Tony teased. 

"That amazing." Bucky countered in an instant his eyes roaming over Tony's body. "You look absolutely lovely." He said when his gaze met Tony's eyes again.

Tony blushed. He had put an extra effort into his look today, choosing a bordeaux lolita dress and choordinating it in a classic style with matching Mary Janes and a nice headband. The dress had a bit of a steampunky touch with a small gear design around the rim, which was a detail also present in his headband. It fit him well, he had a degree in engineering and robotics after all and if it hadn't been for his father not accepting his gender identity he would still be doing that, at least on the side. Dancing was his passion now and he was glad he had discovered it for himself.

Bucky was still looking at him and Tony hunched his shoulders slightly, he started to feel self-conscious, had he overdone it? Was the outfit too much, maybe Bucky didn't like the dresses after all. They had talked a little bit last night, prompted by Bucky's question about Tony's pronouns. Tony had been delighted, he had seldomly encountered someone as open and unbiased as Bucky. Often when he met new people he was met with strange looks and questions that barely passed as being socially acceptable at the best of times. Yes, he had a beard - which he put a lot of effort into, thank you very much - and he wore dresses, skirts, blouses, pink shirts with kittens on it. He wore whatever clothes he wanted, that didn't mean he had to answer every question that was thrown at his head under the guise of curiosity. 

Bucky had made him feel like he was interested in him as a person, not his clothes or his beard or why he dressed the way he did, besides asking for his pronouns and complimenting him on his outfit he hadn't breached the subject at all. He had asked about his role in the new ballet, his friend had told him about it a little bit, and they had made small talk for a few minutes before Tony had headed home.

"Ready to go?" 

Tony's thought spiral was interrupted and he looked up to see Bucky hold out his right arm for him to take. A real gentleman, despite his looks, Tony thought and he happily hooked his own arm into the offered one. 

They walked the few blocks to the café with Bucky leading the way. Tony was vibrating with excitement when Bucky admitted how much he liked the outfit Tony had picked and commented on the small details like the gears. 

The café he lead them to was small but nice, huddled in between two larger buildings. The decor had a vintage style to it and there were booths rather than tables. It was a place Tony would have chosen himself and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the arrangement of pastries in a nice display next to the counter.

Bucky had unhooked his arm and held the door open for him - his left hand still in his jacket pocket - and Tony eagerly stepped in, the smell of good coffee was overwhelming and he couldn't wait to try it. He skipped over to the counter excitedly and studied the hand written menu on the wall. 

"Did I choose right?" 

Tony felt Bucky walk up behind him and turned his head to look up at him. "This is place is amazing. If the coffee is only half as good as the place looks you might have to carry me back to the theater because I'll probably be in a coffee coma from too much caffeine." 

Bucky laughed, such a sweet and honest sound, and placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Let's hope not, I don't want to call an ambulance on the first date." 

Tony pouted playfully then grinned. A harrumph from the barista caught his attention. Behind the counter the young woman was smiling politely at them.

"Yes, ordering, I'll have the caramel macchiato, extra large, extra hot and can you put a little extra swirl of caramel syrup on top? That'd be amazing." 

"Try a pastry, the strawberry puff pastry is incredible." Bucky threw in.

Tony snapped his fingers approvingly. "What he said." 

The barista nodded and looked to Bucky. 

"I'll have a regular, black, no sugar and one of the pastries too." 

"Coming right up." 

Tony leaned into Bucky's side as they watched the woman prepare their drinks and food. It was nice. He hadn't been on a date in a long time and so far he was enjoying himself a lot. Bucky really had chosen well when deciding on this place. There were only a few other customers here and it was quiet. Less customers meant less people staring and Tony feeling more comfortable in his own skin.

The pastries were served on cute tiny plates with an equally tiny fork and that hit every single button on Tony's cuteness-meter and he just wanted to squeal in delight right then and there. He just had a thing for cute, delicate things, it was one of the reasons he liked dresses so much. 

"Go ahead and choose a table, I'll be right there." Bucky removed his hand from Tony's shoulder and pulled out several bills. Tony wasn't really comfortable with Bucky paying for his coffee but he would allow it for now and repay the favor later, if - when - they would get coffee again. He grabbed his coffee - served in a large bowl mug - and his strawberry pastry. The coffee had the requested swirl of caramel on top and he couldn't wait to dig in.  
When he headed to a booth in the back he heard Bucky request a tray for his order behind him. And yeah, it might have been obvious, but Tony had been distracted by Bucky's handsome face to really notice it. Only when Bucky came to the table carrying a small tray with his right hand and his left hand still firmly stuck in his pocket it clicked in Tony's brain. 

Tony stared.

And he didn't even try to hide it. His brain was too occupied telling him how stupid he was for not seeing the signs and it only vagely registered how Bucky frowned when he sat down across from him. 

Contrary to popular belief Tony wasn't rude on purpose, at least most of the time, mostly his body just did things before his brain could parse social cues and most of the time he honestly just didn't care.

"You want to ask." Bucky said suddenly and Tony snapped out of it, looking up at Bucky's serious face.

"Your arm... It's.." Tony started and didn't know how to finish.

"It's fake." Bucky continued for him. With a sigh he reached for his left arm, pulling the hand out of the pocket of his jacket and placing it on the table. What Tony saw stunned him into silence, his mouth gaping open slightly. The hand was made out of metal, fully articulated delicate fingers, the palm of the hand featured a elaborate design of holes that formed flowers and continued up the forearm and disappeared under Bucky's jacket sleeve. The wrist was articulated as well but it was obvious that Bucky couldn't do much more than pose the hand and arm in a certain position. There were no electronics or wires that could move it but in that moment it was the most beautiful thing Tony had ever seen.

"I hope that's not a dealbreaker, but if it is I understand." The other swallowed and looked at Tony with undisguised hope. Tony was still too stunned to say anything and Bucky lowered his head, looking at his pastry. "It was nice getting to know you." Bucky said softly, before pulling his hand back and guiding the metal one back into the pocket. Obviously misinterpreting Tony's silence.

Finally coming to his senses Tony reached out and grabbed the metal wrist that was about to disappear under the table. He locked eyes with Bucky, a flash of anger crossed the other's face before turning into surprise.

"Don't." Tony said too loud. "Don't hide it." He added more softly. "It's beautiful." 

Bucky let out a choked laugh, his expression crumbling. "What?" 

"I mean it." Tony was serious, he couldn't understand why Bucky thought this was a problem. A disability was nothing to be ashamed of much less was it something that was going to throw a wrench into their blossoming relationship if Tony could help it. He suspected there was some emotional baggage Bucky was still carrying and if someone knew a thing or two about baggage and insecurities it was Tony. He let his hand trail down Bucky's metal one and held it like a real hand, squeezing it lightly. He knew Bucky couldn't feel any of that but he hoped the gesture would mean something. 

Bucky was staring at their intertwined hands.

"This isn't how this usually goes." He finally said. 

Tony shrugged. "I'm not usual, now am I? This is not a big deal, Bucky, you gotta come up with something worse than a fucking awesome metal prosthesis that hits about all of my favorite aesthetics point on." 

"Like what?" Bucky had a small smile on his lips now.

"I don't know... Serial killer? It's probably cliché but that would be a reason." 

Tony tilted his head in confusion when Bucky reached inside his shirt collar and pulled out a pair of dog tags, letting them dangle from his thumb."

"Long range eliminations. Does that count?" 

The outburst of laughter was highly inappropriate but Tony couldn't help himself. "No... that doesn't count." 

Bucky tugged the tags back into his shirt. "Just covering my bases, but that answers another question you probably got." 

Tony nodded. Bucky was a war veteran, it didn't take a genius to figure that out. 

"Story's a bit too much for a first date though." He continued. "Besides, coffee's getting cold." 

Bucky was right, they barely knew each other after all, but it was a story Tony wouldn't mine hearing at some point if Bucky felt like telling it. Tony removed his hand from Bucky's to cup both around his coffee mug. He caught himself thinking about a future date and it scared him for a moment. Relationships didn't happen to Tony Stark much less ones that lasted longer than a few weeks or were healthy in any sense of the word, yet he oddly found himself hoping this was going to work out. 

They talked about other things, the ballet that Tony had a big part in, Bucky's friend Steve who as it turned out was doing some artwork for the ballet and had turned quite a few heads with his physique. He had been the reason Bucky had shown up at the theater in the first place. The coffee turned out as delicious as it had smelled and the pastry was a dream and gone too soon.

Time passed way too fast while they made pleasant conversation. Tony fell more and more for the handsome punk that made him laugh so much, made him feel accepted the way he was and he felt a tremendous loss when they were standing in front of the backstage theater entrance again. 

"I hope we're doing this again some time soon." 

"I'd like that, yes. I had a lot of fun." Tony was fidgeting with his dress, he didn't want to turn around and head into the theater, if he could just have a few more minutes - 

"Your friends are watching us." Bucky suddenly said and Tony whirled around. Sure enough the other dancers were poking their heads out of the entrance, grinning and giggling. 

"Damnit." Just what he needed, they'll probably want to hear all about it when all he wanted was to hold the moment close, treasure it and keep it for himself.

"I hope you don't mind but... " 

Tony snapped his head back to Bucky who suddenly was impossibly close. Tony's breath caught in his throat and then Bucky's hand was on his waist and he closed his eyes, relaxing into the touch like he had known nothing else. 

The kiss was brief, just a brushing of lips for a mere second and then it was gone again. Tony was dazed and didn't dare to open his eyes, least the moment was but a dream, but then the hand on his waist disappeared and he had to look.

Bucky looked down at him, his cheeks as flushed as Tony felt, with an expression somewhere between hope and uncertainty. 

"Wow." Was all Tony managed to say and Bucky smiled, that beautiful radiant smile that lit up a room. 

"I'll catch you tomorrow, we can talk then." He said, already taking a few steps backwards. "Your friends are waiting." 

Tony looked after him as Bucky walked down the street and disappeared around the corner.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not ruling out that I will write more for this, but I don't want to put the pressure of another multichapter fanfic on myself.


End file.
